


Wish I could make you happy (but your heart clearly isn't with me)

by FieryBird



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Friendship/Love, How Do I Tag, Jihoon-centric, M/M, at least i tried to make it fluffy, cross posted on AFF, light!angst, most of them are minor characters, pretty fluffy, pretty gay, side!jihan, side!meanie, tried to include all of Seventeen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-05-18 13:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5929549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FieryBird/pseuds/FieryBird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Jihoon is in love with his best friend but some things are just not meant to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on true events and personal experiences but exaggerated for story-telling purposes. Also, this was supposed to be a one-shot but i got carried away so it's not.
> 
> The title is taken from Jason Chen's song Runner Up.

Jihoon couldn’t do it.

 

Not now. Not ever.

 

It shouldn’t be too complicated though and the boy had more than enough time to think about it for the past few weeks. It’s not like this was some kind of impromptu thing – well, it kind of was since he didn’t exactly have a whole speech prepared – he actually thoroughly thought this through and he wasn’t just going by the spur of the moment.

 

But knowing and having a plan doesn’t always make the nerves go away and maybe he should have paid more attention and appreciated the words of encouragement from Jisoo the other day while Jeonghan, being the asshole that he was, was poking fun at Jihoon’s dilemma. How were those two together again?

 

Jihoon will never understand.

 

“You should probably do it now.”

 

The short male jumped at the voice invading his thoughts and sighed when he saw that it was just Seungcheol. When did he get here? They were at Jeonghan and Jisoo’s shared apartment along with the rest of their friends who were just lounging at the main room, watching some movie about some serial killing barber. All Jihoon knew about the movie was that the guy who played Captain Jack Sparrow was in it and it did seem like an interesting film but he had other things on his mind and not everyone was paying attention to the film anyway.

 

Jeonghan and Jisoo were just really looking into each other’s eyes on the loveseat; Mingyu was just texting on his phone, while Seokmin and the man who is currently occupying Jihoon’s mind right now was just to the side and laughing together about some joke that the rest of them will probably just shake their heads at. The only people that were really paying attention to the movie were Chan, Hansol and Seungkwan who was bothering his half-white boyfriend to ask about the movie.

 

“I’m sorry, do what exactly?” Jihoon asked with a blink, the only people who knew of his plan was the couple on the loveseat so it made no sense for Seungcheol to infer about _that._

 

The older chuckled, “Jeonghan can’t keep his mouth shut.” Ah, of course. How could Jihoon ever trust that long-haired demon?

 

“I’m going to kill him.”

 

“Don’t worry, I’m the only one he told.” Seungcheol tried to help out his best friend but it was all in vain because no one can ever be safe from Lee Jihoon’s wrath but at least he tried.

 

“Whatever, I think I’ll just back out anyway.” Jihoon sighed as he glanced at Soonyoung, clutching onto Seokmin’s arm for support since he was laughing so hard at one of their jokes. He really didn’t want to ruin the mood.

 

Seungcheol frowned. “But weren’t you set on doing it today? Isn’t that the whole point why Jeonghan invited us all here to hang-out anyway?” he asked.

 

“Well.. not entirely the reason. Jeonghan’s been meaning to invite us over anyway so-”

 

“Still, you said you were going to tell him today, right?”

 

Jihoon bit his lip and looked at Seungcheol with a frown, “Why do you care?” he was getting annoyed. He has been bothered enough about this whole confession thing and he was getting sick of it. The choice was his not anyone else’s.

 

Seungcheol seemed a bit taken back by this. “Well, I mean we’re friends and I just want what’s best for you plus it’s not good to keep things like this to yourself, also I’m sure Soonyoung would appreciate your honesty.”

 

Jihoon doesn’t think he has ever heard Seungcheol any more genuine than he had just now and it was his turn to be a surprised although the older did have a point and he was glad that his friends cared about his well-being and love-life or lack of.

 

There was silence between them for a few moments and Jihoon let out a sigh, “Sorry, I guess you’re right… I’ll do it.” he said, still a bit unsure but he didn’t want to prolong his passiveness about his feelings any longer. If he doesn’t do it today then he won’t ever.

 

Seungcheol smiled and pat Jihoon on the back as a sign of encouragement but it didn’t make the shorter’s nerves stop from going haywire.

 

\-----------

 

Now, Jihoon was standing before Soonyoung who was looking at him, eyes widened and mouth slightly agape, confused about as to why they were no longer inside of the apartment but rather outside and in the empty hallway. The pink-haired boy wasn’t exactly sure how that happened either but it all happened all so fast and he just walk towards the blonde right after his conversation with Seungcheol and just escorted him out while the others watched the two of them with different degrees of confusion and amusement.

 

Jihoon took a deep breath. It was now or never. (Really, he was just being dramatic at this point.)

“Okay, Soonyoung, I’m going to tell you something very important and I need to you shut the fuck up and not say anything until I’m done. Don’t even react, alright? Just, let me finish.” Wow, he was definitely coming out as more aggressive than he had planned. Well, no turning back now.

 

As soon as the blonde nodded, Jihoon continued but with more hesitation and uncertainty in his tone.

 

“Listen, I like you.”

 

“Oh,” was all Jihoon heard, he could not determine what kind of _‘oh’_ it was exactly as it did not sound like it was either a positive or negative reaction from the younger. He refused to look at his best friend’s face since Soonyoung has always been a very expressive with his facial features, being the performer that he was. “Well, I like you too.”

 

For a moment, the strawberry-haired boy had a spark of hope in his heart.

 

“You’re my best friend.”

 

And just like that it was gone, like the flame of a candle carried away by a gust of wind.

 

Of course, how could of he have expected anything else? Soonyoung would never reciprocate his feelings, he should have known.

 

Jihoon was to just accept his fate and walk away defeated with his unrequited love but something stopped him, the memories for the past couple of years of doting on and getting frustrated with his best friend because the boy just couldn’t take a fucking hint. He couldn’t just give up, he finally had the words out and now all he had to do was clarify and that was easy enough. He already had the courage to say those words and now all he had to do was push a little further and if that still doesn’t work then at least he can walk away with his pride and he can say that he really did try and there was just nothing he could do to change Soonyoung’s mind. He wasn’t stupid, that’s not how feelings work. You couldn’t actually make someone like you, it’s either they do or they don’t and that’s just how it is.

 

“No, that’s not it,” Jihoon had to force the words out and he was glad that he said it loud enough the first time because he would have surely backed out if he had to repeat itself. He looked up and he saw the slight tilt of Soonyoung’s head almost like a puppy, as he waited for Jihoon to carry on, “I mean I like you _more_ than a best friend and I don’t know if you’ve noticed because according to everyone else, I have been nothing but obvious about my feelings and it’s been driving me crazy because I don’t like this stupid warmth that I feel every time I’m with you – I mean I do but like it’s annoying and I’ll understand if you don’t like me back.”

 

 _Oh god._ Jihoon has never said so much in one single breath before and he wasn’t even sure if Soonyoung understood a word that he said, but do his eyes deceive him because honestly, he expected the other either to run away, sneer in disgust or even decline his confession politely because Soonyoung was such a nice guy and he just wasn’t capable of the first two but why the hell was he laughing?

 

Jihoon was standing here, the color of his face probably matching his hair, staring at his best friend with confusion and disbelief. Was Soonyoung making fun of him or what? He wasn’t sure and he was torn between waiting for the blonde to finish or just running away and never looking back. He could also just punch Soonyoung in the face because how fucking dare he laugh at him – _The motherfucking Lee Jihoon._

 

“What’s so funny?” Jihoon snapped or at least he tried to but there was a layer of insecurity in his voice and he was relieved that Soonyoung caught on because he was calming down from his high and looked at the shorter male but with a grin still evident on his lips.

 

“You.”

 

“I’m being serious!”

 

“I know,” Soonyoung said with a nod of his head and Jihoon just waited for him to carry on because he wasn’t sure how to respond anymore and he feels like he has already said enough, “I’m sorry I never realized how you feel.” the blonde was sheepish. Jihoon was both relieved yet slightly irritated because everyone - _everyone_ \- in their group knew and he never thought that anyone could be as dense as Soonyoung was.

 

Sure, Jihoon isn’t exactly the most affectionate person in the world but he did treat Soonyoung quite differently than the others, he was softer and more forgiving when it came to his constant physical and verbal abuse, also low key looked after the boy even when he could barely remember to take care of himself. Really, how the fuck did Soonyoung not notice Jihoon’s sickeningly obvious feelings for him? This was a bunch of bullshit.

 

“Ah… it’s fine.” was all the strawberry-haired boy could say. He wasn’t really in the mood to bitch about it, not when his nerves were still all over the place and wait - was he supposed to say anything else?

 

“So…” he started, what was he supposed to say next?

 

Soonyoung just looked at him, expectantly. Good, at least he didn’t look disgusted or anything like that.  That would be the horrible if Jihoon has to lose his best friend just because he needed to develop these stupid things called _feelings_.

 

“do you wanna… like, go on a date…” Jihoon trailed off and added quickly “with me?” he felt stupid. Obviously, it would be with him, why would he ask for someone else? That’s just ridiculous.

 

Soonyoung laughed, “Sure, why not?” he beamed at the shorter male, “When?”

  
Jihoon felt a tad bit better but some of the nerves were still there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I tried my best and I don't know if I was able to proof-read this properly but there's the first chapter of the supposedly one-shot. Hope you enjoyed!


	2. Chapter 2

It was at times like this that Jihoon realized that definitely when it comes to any sort of romantic non-platonic related things, he was completely hopeless.

Really, there was no sense in being nervous anymore because he already got pass the hard part and that was initially asking the boy of his desires out and it shouldn’t be nerve-wrecking to go on a date with Soonyoung because they’ve known each other for years now and they have hung out with just the two of them before so this shouldn’t be any different.

A date is essentially just hanging out but this time, the stupid things called feelings have been put into light and there is some sort of result that is expected out of it. At least, that’s what Jihoon thinks. His experiences with these types of things were basically zero to none so he was just going with whatever his friends are telling him and from the dramas that he has watched when there was nothing else to do.

Yup, he definitely never watched those dramas to his own accord and he has convinced himself that there was nothing else to watch on television and he was definitely not pulled in by his curiosity of the female protagonist’s decision of whether she would choose the jerk of a male protagonist who treated her like shit initially but had a change of heart or the equally attractive best friend who has been there all along. Of course, she would choose the jerk but that’s not really what this whole thing is about and Jihoon is pretty sure that the readers of this have watched their own number of dramas to know where those plots would end with.

What exactly was supposed to happen on a date anyway? The boy couldn’t help but wonder if those rom-com movies had some kind of truth to them. Probably not but he had no other leads and what else was he supposed to think? His own friends were also sickeningly relatively sweet on their dates with their respective partners or when they were just together in general.

One good example of this would be Jisoo and Jeonghan who were practically connected at the hip even before they became official. It was a rarity to see one without the other outside of the the classes they did not share or back when they used to reside at the campus dormitories (Jisoo was Jihoon’s roommate) but the couple managed to find an apartment near the campus as well their work places and have been stuck together since; Happy and content to be in each other’s presence almost 24/7.

It was disgusting really but Jihoon secretly envied them. Not to say that Jihoon was looking for anything domestic like that with Soonyoung or with anyone for that matter but (why would he have asked his best friend out though if he wasn’t looking to settle?) he thought it would be nice to have someone for that kind of stuff.

“Okay, you need to chill.” Jeonghan interrupted Jihoon’s thoughts. The latter hadn’t even realized that his fingers had been tapping against their table until the older had placed a hand on them because it was kind of ticking him off and a few other customers, near enough to hear the consistent beat.

“I am chill. I am like the epitome of chill.”

Jeonghan rolled his eyes while Jisoo snorted as he took a sip of his drink. They were at the university cafe and just hanging out since their classes were done for the day and none of them were in a hurry to retreat back to their homes and bury themselves in the fuck ton of homework waiting for them. Also, Jihoon was having second thoughts about his date the following day and Jeonghan, being the good friend that he was, refused to let the short male chicken out. That would be unhealthy, especially since he had to listen to Jihoon’s rant about Soonyoung’s ignorance and how they were never going to become anything more so the pink-haired male should just forget and get rid of his feelings.

It was just ridiculous.

“Honestly though, it’s just a date and it’s just Soonyoung.”

“Yes it is Soonyoung and that’s what makes it even more nerve-wrecking!”

Jeonghan rolled his eyes as he made himself comfortable by leaning against his boyfriend, head tucked underneath Jisoo’s chin. The younger automatically wrapped an arm around the long-haired male and pulled him in closer as if Jeonghan wasn’t already practically sitting on his lap.

Jihoon could already feel the words ‘Third Wheel’ stamped to his forehead in bold and capital letters. Why does he always have to get stuck hanging out with these two?

Usually, Seungcheol would also be there since he was closer to the duo but the man was currently working the counter of the cafe and was too far to be part of the conversation. Jihoon wondered how he could stand being around the couple in front of him so much, he was kind of amazed by how easily Seungcheol could just cockblock the two by slipping himself in between them or luring Jisoo into conversations about anime, leaving Jeonghan out of the conversation completely which left daggers being thrown Seungcheol’s way, courtesy of his best friend. He wasn’t even into anime, he just really liked tormenting Jeonghan by stealing his boyfriend away for shorts amount of time.

Jihoon looked over at Seungcheol who visibly brightened up when their eyes met and waved with a bright smile on his face. The former could almost see the metaphorical tail wagging behind him.

It was cute. Jihoon smiled.

“Could you stop flirting with our beloved ice cream scoops? You’re going out with Soonyoung, not him.”

Jihoon scoffed, “Says the guy, sitting on his boyfriend’s lap.” He hadn’t bothered denying the flirting because they weren’t and Jeonghan was just being his usual asshole self. How did this guy manage to snag the God-fearing, church going and wholesome Hong Jisoo? Jihoon will never know the answer to that question but witchcraft seemed like a plausible answer.

“At least I have a boyfriend.”

A cupcake went flying and Jisoo was left with cleaning duty, a sulking Jeonghan clinging to his arm.  
\-----------  
Jihoon was shaking his leg as he waited for Soonyoung to arrive, sipping on the complimentary water to calm his nerves.

It wasn’t working.

Why was he even nervous? The hard part was already done and over with, he even ended up with more than he expected since rejection seemed like the most reasonable outcome in his worrisome mind. He just never thought that Soonyoung would see him anything more than a friend except for the excessive skinship that the latter enjoyed but the blonde was just naturally touchy with almost everyone.

He was nothing special but Jihoon could be a bit delusional sometimes so he liked to believe that he was. Things should go by smoothly now, right? Soonyoung was his best friend so it shouldn’t be weird at all. If things work out and they do end up dating then cool and Jihoon would be happy and if not then they can just go back to the way things were between them.

Nothing had to be complicated.

Except it kind of was, at least inside of tsundere Jihoon’s head.

“Water, sir?” a deep voice had pulled Jihoon out of his thoughts. He needed to stop spacing out like that. He looked up at the waiter and was surprised to see such an emo-looking guy, looking completely out of place in the cute and warm atmosphere of the café, except he was wearing the uniform and that was the only indication that he belonged there at all. He had dark hair and sharp, piercing eyes lined with black.

Yep, definitely emo. Jihoon decided. Mingyu would like this one.

Jihoon’s eyes fell onto the nametag on the waiter’s left breast-pocket. Won...woo?

The name sounded familiar but he was just too preoccupied with his own worries to be recalling where he had heard that name before.

The waiter cleared his throat and Jihoon realized that the man was looking at him expectantly but also looking quite disinterested.

“I’m sorry, what?”

The Wonwoo guy sighed inaudibly and Jihoon resisted the urge to throw his glass at him although his fingers twitched. He’s glad that he had gained more self-control. He could sympathize with the poor guy, probably had to work with difficult customers all day and well adding Jihoon to the mix was definitely making it any easier.

“Would you like some more water?”

“Ah, no-” Jihoon glanced at the glass in his hands and realized that it was empty, how did that happen, “actually yes, that would be great.” He watched as the clear liquid transferred from the pitcher and into his glass, mumbling a thanks when it was almost full.

He expected the guy-Wonwoo-to leave so he could go back to his pitiful negative thinking even though what he did earlier that week had yielded good results and he was going to be in a totally non-platonic date with his best friend. God, it just sounded so weird every time he thought about it.

Jihoon blinked at the unmoving man, “Can… I help you?” he asked with a slight furrow of his eyebrows and a hint of annoyance in his tone. He just wanted to be left alone for now.

“Stood up?”

Okay, that’s not a question you ask a random stranger who you’re supposed to be serving… or at least Jihoon didn’t think so. It’s not like he ever worked in food service, but still this guy did not look like he belonged here, perhaps Hot Topic would have been a much more appropriate choice. Also, did he really look that pathetic that anyone would come to the conclusion that he was being stood up?

Jihoon frowned and Wonwoo seemed to catch onto his confusion and displeasure as he proceeded to continue speaking, “I mean it’s just that, you’ve been here for almost an hour now and have been looking increasingly worried by the second so I just wanted to see if you were okay, Jihoon.”

Ah, so he really did look path- wait, did he just call him by his name?

Jihoon’s expression immediately changed from displeased to angry, eyebrows furrowed and sharp eyes locked on the taller male before him, “How the fuck do you know my name?” he snapped.

There was the Oh shit! expression on his normally stoic face when he realized how much he fucked up. Ah yes, it seems that Jihoon’s fearsome reputation has reached this poor stranger’s ears. That pleases yet concerns Jihoon, if he were to be honest. It was bad enough that his friends were terrified of him and now even people he didn’t know were going to hide behind crosses when they cross paths with him. Terrific.

“So?” Jihoon raised an eyebrow as he waited for an explanation. He could not think of one acceptable reason so this guy better have fast reflexes and could run like a bullet.

Yes, he was too violent for his own good but what if this guy was a crazy serial killer who preyed on the smols (Jihoon will never admit to calling himself that)? He needed to protect himself. Wonwoo sounded like a psychopath’s name, right? He looked the kinda guy who would cut Jihoon open and offer his insides as a sacrifice to the dark forces of the earth.

That or Jihoon could just be ridiculously paranoid at times but he thought he raised a pretty valid argument.

“Ah, well, you see-“

“Jeon Wonwoo!” an obnoxiously loud and familiar voice boomed through the café and everyone’s attention was immediately on the tall and handsome boy who had just entered the premises.

Of course, he would have something to do with all of this.

Jihoon watched in horror as his roommate approached his table and wrapped an arm around a flustered and embarrassed Wonwoo.

Jihoon wanted to take a really dull knife and pierce it through his own neck.

“Kim Mingyu,” Jihoon glared at Wonwoo when they spoke at the same time and latter wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. Satisfied, the shorter looked back at his roommate who was probably up to no good, “what are you doing here?”

It looks like Mingyu had only just realized that it was Jihoon at the table that Wonwoo was catering to or that anyone was at the table at all. How typical.

“Jihoon! Uh, ah… fancy seeing you here.”

“Bullshit, you knew I was going to be here. Hell, you were even the one who reco-“

The gears in Jihoon’s head started rolling and as he looked at the familiarity between the two boys and – oh¬¬¬ - it all makes sense now.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Jihoon groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was going to get a migraine at this point. “Couldn’t you have at least tried to not get caught?” he hissed with a roll of his eyes.

“Well, I would have gotten away with it if you weren’t so early!” Mingyu whined, as if Jihoon was the one at fault here and there was absolutely nothing wrong with stalking, “You said the date was at around 11 and how long have you been here exactly?”

“I think you’re missing the point-“

“How long has he been here, Wonwoo?” Mingyu interrupted Jihoon as if the shorter male was not on the verge of murdering him right now.

“I want to live so I don’t think I should get involved.”

Wonwoo feared for his life. Wonwoo knew what Jihoon was capable of. Wonwoo was smart. Be Like Wonwoo.

Jihoon already liked this guy a bit more but he was still pretty pissed off.

“You’re already involved, just answer the question.” Mingyu insisted, lightly shaking the older male.

Wonwoo sighed, mentally writing down his will for his family friends, “Around 9, I think. I wasn’t really paying attention to the time.” He said with cautious, moving to partially hide himself behind Mingyu from the daggers being thrown his way.

“See! What normal human being would arrive 2 hours earlier for a date?” Mingyu looked smug and Jihoon knew exactly what to do to wipe that look off his face. He was so going to get it at the dorm later.

Jihoon didn’t speak and Mingyu thought he won this one but the smirk that slowly made its way to his roommate’s lips made him think otherwise and shit, he should probably run.

“Looks like I’ll be taking up Jisoo’s offer on that old guitar he was selling.”

At the mention of the string instrument, Mingyu froze and Wonwoo felt the change in his aura so he quickly excused himself, mumbling about his manager calling him. Mingyu looked at Jihoon’s smiling face, a painting of innocence but the evil glint in his eyes made him remember that Lucifer was beautiful.

\--------------

When Soonyoung arrived, Jihoon was sipping on his 7th glass of water and Mingyu was being comforted by Wonwoo somewhere in a hidden corner but the blonde didn’t need to know about that. Jihoon was previously prideful because he knew that he just gave his roommate a week’s worth of paranoia but all that quickly melted away when he saw his best friend walk in because he completely forgot that he was supposed to be on a date and he still had no idea how this whole thing worked.

The same nerve-wrecking thoughts came back to Jihoon from before as he watched Soonyoung approach his table. Oh no, he should have just cancelled when he still could have or just left and pretend that this whole thing never happened.

“Hey, Jihoon! I’m starving. What’s good here?” Soonyoung asked with a grin.

Their conversations just flowed off naturally from there and Jihoon’s worries quickly went away as the two of them ordered their food and shared some stories and laughs as if it was just like one of their regular hangout sessions.

At the back of Jihoon’s mind, he knew that he should have brought up the whole ‘feelings’ thing up so they could talk about it but he was too entertained by Soonyoung’s blabbering and just brushed it off. He was enjoying himself and it seems like so was Soonyoung.

They could just talk about it afterwards or even another day.

They never did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was I good? Hehe, I think I need to chill with the paragraphs but there's the update! :D I'm glad people are enjoying it so far~ Writing is very hard x3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me a while to update but college is a pain in the ass and yeah. Enjoy!

A month and a half has passed since the date with Soonyoung and there were a couple of changes that happened over the course of that time span. One of the more obvious ones would be the fact that Jihoon's hair was no longer a bubblegum pink but rather purple since the previous color was fading anyway and Jihoon was growing sick of the color pink so purple was the next choice he had in mind. It wasn't bad and he could still be easily spotted in a crowd without having to exert much effort but Jeonghan was disappointed since he could no longer refer to him as a bubblegum bitch - well, he could but it wouldn't be as funny.

Another thing, and admittedly more concerning is the fact that Soonyoung and Jihoon were drifting apart and their friends were definitely concerned as they witnessed the two’s interactions with one another grow less and less frequent as more time passes by.

Jihoon has noticed this of course but he has not done anything about it and could not bring himself to anyway, choosing to wait for Soonyoung instead since he trusted that his friend could tell him that he wasn't interested in becoming more than friends if he truly felt that way.

At least, Jihoon hoped so.

He had also noticed that while Soonyoung was drifting away from him, the latter's relationship with Seokmin only seemed to grow stronger with each passing day. Now, Jihoon had his suspicions but the two haven't said anything that could even hint at they were together and Jihoon did not think that it was his business anyway.

Sure, he had a thing for Soonyoung but his relationships were none of his business. They were not in a relationship anyway.

Also, the key word is _had_.

Yeah, Jihoon's feelings for Soonyoung were not as strong as they were before and he was actually surprised with how fast he seemed to have gotten over the boy especially since he has liked him for a while now. Huh.

Maybe, it was the time they spent apart from each other or maybe, Jihoon saw a list of things about Soonyoung that he knew he would not want to have in a romantic partner. Perhaps it was a mix of both.

Whatever it was, Jihoon was not too concerned about whatever the issue was with Soonyoung and he just wished that his friends would follow his lead and just let it go.

"Listen, it's been more than a month-" Jihoon tried to end the topic but it seems that Jeonghan was having none of it until he got all the details sorted out.

"Exactly, so why the fuck are you two still not talking?" Jeonghan grabbed the notebook from Jihoon who was trying to study for their upcoming finals but it seems that was not going to happen any time soon.

Jihoon sighed, giving up on the whole idea of studying for now, maybe he could just retreat somewhere else outside of campus another time so he could finally concentrate since Jeonghan obviously showed no concern for his friends' curricular performance.

"We talk," Jihoon's tone went higher at the last syllable and he continued before Jeonghan could point out how unsure he sounded, "just not as much. I mean I wasn't really expecting things to go back to the way they used to be after the confession, you know?" he shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, but it's been a while and-" Jeonghan sighed, resting his chin on his hand while keeping his eyes on Jihoon, "it's just weird, okay? You two are the best of friends and now-"

"I get it. It's weird but I don't know what's going on either." Jihoon admitted.

"Maybe you should talk to him." Joshua piped in, breaking his silence during the whole exchange. Jihoon would have forgotten that he was there if he wasn't sitting so close next to Jeonghan, fixing the latter's hair every now and then during their conversation.

Ugh, how are they always so sweet together? It was disgusting.

"You think I haven't tried?" Jihoon sighed, resting his head in his arms on the table.

"No, I mean-" Jihoon lifted his head back up to look at Joshua, "Confront him about this whole thing." the latter gestured both of his hands in a circular motion in the air as if he was trying to choreograph for a performance of the 'Circle of Life' or something, earning a giggle from Jeonghan.

Somewhere behind the bookshelves, someone shushed the trio and they all whispered a chorus of ' _sorry'_ to whoever it was and proceeded with the conversation with a more appropriate volume for the library.

"Do I have to do it in person?" Jihoon asked as he revert his attention back to the couple.

"Well, yeah. That's how you confessed so.."

_Damn it._ Jihoon was hoping that he could do it in text or something since he wasn't sure if he could face Soonyoung because of their current predicament. Hell, he could barely put up a decent conversation with the guy for more than 2 minutes so how the fuck was he supposed to confront him?

"Fine. I'll talk to him."

"Come on, it's Soonyoung. I'm sure you two can talk it out." Jeonghan assured him with a smile.

"Yeah? I hope so."

\----------------------

3 weeks.

That's how long it took for Jihoon to talk to Soonyoung again.

Well, he did ask about homework in the one math class that they had together but it took him three weeks to confront him about whatever the hell this is that they were having. It wasn't a fight or anything like that but there was still some shit to be resolved.

Also, it's not like Jihoon _meant_ to postpone it for that long but they did just have finals and he managed to get Soonyoung's attention and time on the last day of their classes before their winter break and Jihoon brought back the courage he had the time he confessed - well, half of that; he wasn't nearly as aggressive this time - and finally confronted him about this whole ordeal.

"Did you talk to him?" was the first thing Joshua asked after letting him into their apartment.

"Uh yeah, I did." Jihoon sat down on the couch and began playing with his hands, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"And...?" the older did not sound convinced that Jihoon did in fact do as he was supposed to.

Well, he did talk to Soonyoung, but it was very anti-climactic as well as awkward as fuck, so Jihoon isn't even really sure if that counts.

"I'm not sure." Jihoon admitted with a sigh before lying down, using Seungcheol's, who was already seated on the other end of the couch, lap as a pillow. The owner of the said lap began playing with his coloured locks, a comforting smile on his lips.

"What do you mean you're not sure?" Jeonghan interjected as he exited the kitchen with an open bag of chips in hand.

"Well..."

 

("Uh, hey Soonyoung, can I talk to you after class?" Jihoon asked the boy who had just arrived, using the grace period they had before the professor officially begins the class session.

"Oh, sure."

Fortunately, the entire session was only used for grade consultations so they were able to leave much earlier than usual although Jihoon wasn't really looking forward to the talk anyway but he wouldn't exactly be able to pay attention to any lectures anyway if they had any so this was better.

Soonyoung was waiting outside the room when Jihoon went out and they both went off to a secluded corner to talk. They were both very quiet and the shorter male realized just how much they've really drifted apart and it was sad to think about.

"Uh, I've been meaning to ask you," Jihoon began, careful with his words and keeping his gaze anywhere but the other's face, "but have you been ignoring me?" that is such an awkward thing to ask your friend. Why did he have to do this again?

"What? No, not at all." Soonyoung blinked, nonchalant. Not what Jihoon was expecting at all.

"Oh, are you sure?" Jihoon furrowed his eyebrows as he forced himself to look his friend in the eye, "because the guys have been telling me that they've noticed that we've been distant lately and well- I've noticed as well but I thought it was just me so-"

"I swear I'm not meaning to ignore you, Jihoon." Soonyoung assured him and Jihoon wasn't convinced even with the easy smile on the other's lips but he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the boy just really hadn't noticed.

"Right, well," Jihoon cleared his throat, "just wanted to make sure. Enjoy your break then."

"You too.")

 

"That's it?" Jeonghan asked, squinting his eyes at Jihoon who was on the brink of dozing off because Seungcheol playing with his hair felt so nice and Jihoon just wanted to curl up in his lap and fall asleep.

"Yeah, I guess." Jihoon just shrugged, closing his eyes and focusing on Seungcheol's fingers threading through his hair.

"That can't be-"

"Hannie, leave it." Seungcheol interrupted, "You heard Jihoon. Just let the kids solve it on their own, okay?"

"But-- fine."

Jihoon smiled, mentally thanking Seungcheol for finally shutting Jeonghan up about this.

For now, at least.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jihoon and Seungcheol hang out.
> 
> Jihoon hates pokemon pick up lines.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh look! An update! :D  
> Here's the JiCheol fluff I promised! ^~^

Pretending was an easy task, Jihoon decided.

 

All it took was a friendly smile and striking up a casual conversation every now and then to convince people that he and Soonyoung were okay.

There was definitely still an issue between them but no one had to know about that. It seems that Soonyoung agrees as well, with the way that he talks to Jihoon as if nothing ever changed between them but still kept some sort of distance. Not too much but enough for Jihoon to know. 

It was almost as if Jihoon was some sort of land mine that if one made a wrong move then everything would just blow up.

One wrong step. That's all it would take.

Jihoon disagrees.

Soonyoung has been making the wrong moves ever since he decided to agree to that date.

All he had to do now was apologize and maybe explain but no. 

_What a fucking coward._ Jihoon thinks to himself.

_As if you're any different._

Something inside him answered back.

Jihoon chose to pretend he didn't hear it.

"-ter location, right? It's so- hey, Jihoonie. Are you even listening to me?" Seungcheol asked, nudging the shorter boy, when he realized that his friend was staring off into the distance yet again.

"Huh? Yeah, of course." 

"Really, what was I saying then?"

"Uhh... *Fnaf?"

"Holy shit, you were listening."

Jihoon did a mental facepalm at how gullible Seungcheol could be. Seriously, how did anyone ever think that he was a suave kinda guy.

"Hey, are the others still coming or have we been officially ditched?" Jihoon asked to change the topic, also because he's pretty sure that they've been in the cafe for about an hour now and neither of his two expected friends have even bothered texting.

Seungcheol looked like he suddenly remembered something and gave Jihoon a sheepish smile, "Right, about that.."

"... Jeonghan texted you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, I-"

"He and Joshua cancelled didn't they?"

"I forgot to tell you."

Jihoon rolled his eyes at that and finished the rest of his drink, "Whatever, I'm not surprised."

"That I forgot or they ditched?"

"Both, hyung. Both."

Seungcheol pouted and Jihoon couldn't help as the corners of his lips pulled up slightly.

"Don't beat yourself over it, it's part of your charm."

Seungcheol grinned, "You think I'm charming?"

Jihoon rolled his eyes yet again, "You know what I mean."

\---

Seungcheol somehow convinced Jihoon to spend the rest of the day together. At first, Jihoon pretended to have something planned which caused Seungcheol to start whining and tugging at his arm. Jihoon couldn't help the smile on his lips as he finally 'gave in'.

Jihoon let himself get dragged around the general area near their university with Seungcheol pointing at everything that catches his attention (which is pretty much anything colorful, cute or shiny).

It was a Saturday so the streets were crowded with couples on their little dates or groups of teenagers just taking advantage of the weekend.

The crowd was bearable, Seungcheol and Jihoon didn't have to push their way through but rather walk comfortably beside each other.

Even though their little adventure was out of the blue and started at around lunch time, they still managed to do quite a bit. For the most part, it was just Jihoon following where ever Seungcheol wanted to go or rather Seungcheol dragging Jihoon where ever he wanted to go.

Not that Jihoon was complaining.

The day had ended too soon and Jihoon was back in his dorm room. There was no sign of Mingyu anywhere so he figured that the kid must be with Wonwoo or something. He has been seeing more of the emo-looking waiter ever since the date incident and noticed just how close he was with his roommate. Whether they were together or not was unclear but Jihoon was just going to assume that they were.

Jihoon was tired from the event of the day so he tossed the Jigglypuff plushie he got earlier and decided to just shimmy off his pants and lay down in bed. He hadn't realized how tired he was but as soon as he plopped down onto the mattress, he could feel his fatigue catching up as the initial adrenaline slowly drained away.

How the hell did Seungcheol have so much energy? 

Jihoon sighed and closed his eyes, he started reminiscing on the time he just spent with Seungcheol.

 

( They found a nice restaurant a few blocks away from the cafe they were originally supposed to spend time in. It wasn't anything too fancy but their menu did consist of pasta and other stuff that they don't usually eat.

"Jihoonie, say aah" Seungcheol had a fork full of lasagna in front on the younger's lips.

Jihoon blinked and stared at his friend until the other started pouting.

The younger just opened his mouth still skeptical about the action but soon it was changed with satisfaction as the meaty taste of lasagna met his tongue.

God, that shit was good.

Seungcheol seemed pleased with himself and Jihoon could feel his cheeks heating up.)

 

Again, Jihoon could feel himself blushing at the memory and he buried his face in his pillow to make it more bearable.

He was convinced that he was blushing due to embarrassment, remembering that there were other customers in the establishment who looked at them.

Jihoon pat his cheeks to cool them down but it didn't last too long when another memory hit him as he accidentally locked eyes with his new Jigglypuff plushie.

 

("I bet you can't win this, either!"

They ended up in the arcade for some reason but no one was complaining since they rarely get to go these days.

Jihoon was sulking since Seungcheol was laughing at him for failing the claw machine for the nth time. 

It wasn't his fault! 

Those things were always rigged to just drain all your money with empty promises of a cute plushie.

Seungcheol slowly stopped laughing and was only reduced to some pretty unmanly giggles before he spoke up, "And what If I do win?"

Jihoon blinked at that and raised his brow as he met eyes with the taller male, "Then you get a plushie, duh."

Seungcheol grinned and ruffled Jihoon's hair, earning a groan and half-hearted punch from the younger, "Alright, I'll give it a shot."

Jihoon started laughing at Seungcheol's second attempt and kept laughing at the older's consecutive failures.

It was on his 7th attempt that Jihoon's laughter died down as the claw had managed to hold onto a Jigglypuff plushie and brought it to the drop off.

Jihoon pouted at Seungcheol who held onto the adorably pink ball of fluff with a proud grin on his face.

The younger didn't say anything and just simply walked away all the while frowning and grumbling about rigged arcade games and cheating friends.

"Jihoon! Don't leave me!" Seungcheol called out - well, more like whined - and ran after his sulking friend, all the while waving the Pokemon plushie above his head.

People eyed Seungcheol with varying degrees of judgement. The university student didn't seem to mind but Jihoon was trying to hide and pretend that he had no idea who Seungcheol was despite talking just moments before.

_I don't know him. Please don't look at me._

Jihoon tried to convince the people around them through his mind but it wasn't working, especially not when Seungcheol finally caught up and grabbed him by the arm, cradling Jigglypuff in his other arm.

Jihoon's gaze shifted from Seungcheol's pouting face to Jigglypuff and back to Seungcheol.

"Congratulations, Choi Seungcheol." Jihoon said, "You have caught your first Pokemon! Now, you're on your way to becoming the very best like no one ever was." He continued on with fake enthusiasm, kinda like those infomercials.

Seungcheol laughed anyway and let go of Jihoon's arm before handing Jigglypuff over to the younger.

Jihoon looked up at Seungcheol, peeking from behind Jigglypuff since the pokemon was right in front of his face, "what?" He asked.

"You can have him."

Jihoon was dumbfounded by the offer so he shook his head, "No, you caught him so he's yours."

Seungcheol smiled and placed Jigglypuff in Jihoon's arms who looked down at the adorable plushie, "Nah." He gave Jihoon's cheek a light pinch which earned a frown from the younger.

The older pulled his hand away and laughed while Jihoon rolled his eyes and looked down at the pokemon in his arms and squished it.

"Plus, the only real catch around here is you."

It all happened too fast and suddenly Seungcheol was sitting on the ground while holding onto his jaw as he stared up at a blushing Jihoon who was still clutching onto Jigglypuff.

A crowd was already forming around them and Jihoon wanted nothing more than to run away.

Did he really just headbutt Seungcheol in the middle of a busy street with a Jigglypuff in his hands?

Yes, yes he did.

Was it because of Seungcheol's stupid pick up line?

No, absolutely not.

...

Okay, maybe just a little bit.)

 

Jihoon stared back at Jigglypuff's turquoise eyes.

He was blushing again and despite the innocent look on the pokemon's face, he could swear that he was being silently judged right now.

He was being judged by a fucking Jigglypuff.

What the hell?

Jihoon

huffed and closed his eyes in order to avoid the stare of the _JudgementalPuff._

Not even a minute in, he heard his phone chime informing him of a new text message and he reluctantly reached over to read it.

 

**From: cheol-hyung**

**[8:13pm]**

**Hoonie! I had a great time today! I hope you and Jigglypuff are both home and safe :))))**

 

Jihoon smiled at the screen and shook his head in amusement.

 

**To: cheol-hyung**

**[8:16]**

**Same here ^^**

**And yes, we're both safe and sound.**

 

**From: cheol-hyung**

**[8:17]**

**Hope we can do it again some time**

 

**To: cheol-hyung**

**[8:19]**

**Of course hyung**

 

**From: cheol-hyung**

**[8:21]**

**Dream of me. ;)**

 

Jihoon snorted at that but it did nothing to wipe the smile off his face.

 

**To: cheol-hyung**

**[8:23]**

**u wish**

**From: cheol-hyung**

**[8:25]**

**Yeah I do :3**

**G'night jihoonie!!!**

**To: cheol-hyung**

**[8:27]**

**Weirdo.**

**Night :)**

 

Jihoon put his phone away and finally went to sleep.

For the first time in months, Jihoon fell asleep with someone other than Soonyoung on his mind.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that chapter! :D
> 
> *FNAF = Five Nights at Freddy's   
> for the people who somehow have never heard of that game.


End file.
